Dentist here, I only recommend an oscillating head (oral b) and not sonic (Colgate/phillips), studies consistently show they remove more plaque. I can’t find the exact video but they looked at non-oscillating heads in ultra slow motion and the movement at the tip of the bristle (where it counts) was essentially nil.
The other important factor is a pressure sensor. Along the gum line it’s more common to see toothbrush abrasion lesions and gum recession than actual decay. From my experience people over brush the surfaces you see when you smile, and they under floss the in-between areas.
Pro tip: grab an interdental brush (Pikster or TePe) because no matter how good the tooth brush it’s only ever going to clean 3 out of the 5 surfaces of a tooth.
Floss is good for clearing the contact point between the teeth, this where you usually get decay, nothing else really gets this area. The interdental brushes work better on the gums, preventing gingivitis and periodontitis better than floss.
I honestly prefer the older style Oral B Pro series (700/800/1500/4000) but the newer iO series seem okay too. iO3 as a minimum, iO9 if you want to connect it to smartphone, not sure why you’d want to.
I use an Oral B Pro 700, a manual toothbrush when I’m travelling, and piksters. I have an iO4 that a rep gave me that’s waiting for the Pro series to die, although I’m not sure it ever will.
The other-side of the equation is diet of course, if you have a diet full of fibrous, low GI foods, and don’t smoke, you can afford to be a little bit slack in the hygiene department from time to time.
Oh god that’s a hard one, I’d like to see myself as a ‘think outside the box’ kind of person, because the mainstream is boring! However, when it comes to alternative theories on health it gets real crazy real quick, e.g. egg shells cure teeth decay, the baby stripped all the nutrients from my teeth, my wisdom teeth made my teeth crowded etc. The 1/10 in me tries to look at the patient holistically, what’s right for one person might not be for the next, but the 9/10 recognises that most decisions and advice should be based on some form scientific proof.
Quip sucks. I had one for a couple years and replaced it with an oral b. What a world of difference. I got the basic one without the silly app download and love it.
Definitely worth it in my view. As others have said, you don't need to invest in one of the mad expensive models. I have a fairly basic oral b one and it's excellent, held up for 7 years now.
One thing I'd recommend is getting the soft-bristled brush heads, it was suggested by my dentist
peakmeme
